I saw an interesting post on Facebook the other day that showed what life was like in 1915 and how different our lives are now compared to then. It’s amazing how much has changed in the past 100 years. Or is it? When I contemplate, let’s say, the past 10 years, I can think of a lot of changes that have taken place in my life, most notable is my online presence. I now do just about everything online. I bank online, I shop online, I pay my bills online, I visit with friends online, I research information online, I borrow books from the library online, I book travel online, I file my taxes online, and the list goes on and on. I sound like Forrest Gump describing what you can make with shrimp.

Do you know how much easier my life has gotten since I started doing all of this stuff online? That’s how easy life has gotten for hackers of information. It’s kind of the yin and yang of it all—you get the good and the bad.

Identity theft is a term that is thrown around so much I’m afraid we’ve almost become desensitized to it. But I know, you know it’s an ever-present threat. However, what you may not know is that it’s a real threat to your children—no matter how young they are! According to my (online) research the youngest victim was 5-months-old. Yes that’s correct, only 5 months!

Where did I get this statistic? I got it from Carnegie Mellon University’s Cylab study, Child Identity Theft. They used a database that contained over 800,000 identity records of which 42,232 were children under 18. What they found was quite disturbing. 4,311 of those kids had their Social Security number stolen—over 10 percent. That’s 51 times higher than the 0.2 percent rate found for the adults in the same pool.

These kid’s ID’s were used for a multitude of purposes from purchasing homes and cars to opening credit card accounts. They were also used for obtaining employment and driver’s licenses. The largest fraud was committed against a 16-year-old girl, to the tune of $725,000!

According to the data in this report, identity thieves are targeting children because of the value attached to their Social Security numbers. These virtually unused numbers are extremely valuable because there currently isn’t any way for employers or creditors to check which name (and birth date) legitimately goes with which Social Security number. It’s scary to know that as long as a fraudster has a SSN with a clean history, he or she can attach any name and birth date to it. And since parents don’t typically monitor their children’s identities the likelihood of them getting caught is very low even though the impact to the kid’s future could be devastating.

The study found that the people most likely to initiate these thefts are illegal immigrants (looking to obtain fake ID’s) organized crime members (for financial gain) and family and friends (to outsmart bad credit scores).

What can you do to prevent your child from becoming a victim?

? Pay attention to any pre-approved credit card or other financial offers that come in the mail addressed to your child. This could be a sign that your child may have an open credit file (People under 18 should not typically have a credit report).

? Teach your children about the importance of keeping their personal information private especially when online.

? Protect your children’s personal information by keeping their Social Security numbers locked up so visitors and other family members cannot have access to it—you just never know.

We all do what we can to protect ourselves from these attacks, it’s time we do the same for our children.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

‘Tis the season. No doubt this is the easiest time of year to get all wrapped up (pun intended), stressed out and overwhelmed. In addition to the stresses of the holiday season, most companies are preparing for next year so the need to hit the ground running ratchets things up even more. Of course, let’s not forget the very difficult news we receive in bunches every day.

Sometimes I liken it to wearing a Velcro suit when the Cottonwood trees bloom. Where does all this stuff come from? It seems like it comes from every direction at once, sticks to us, piles up, starts to weigh us down and is nearly impossible to get rid of.

However, more and more evidence seems to be accumulating that something as simple as developing an ‘attitude of gratitude’ can significantly add to our physical and mental health.

A small blurb in the November 25th edition of the Minneapolis Star Tribune by Allie Shah caught my eye. The day of publication is no coincidence of course, but really it takes discipline to create and maintain a focus on being grateful each and every day of the year. She points out, though, that “Gratitude has been the focus of a flurry of recent research on the mind-body connection. Daily gratitude exercises have been linked to reduced levels of depression, anxiety and sleep problems.” She goes on to cite studies that support gratitude boosting everything from the immune system to improving heart health.

Of course, here at UCS we have a lot to be grateful for: our valued customers for one thing. Without you we don’t have a business! Our team for another, and not only the superb job they do each day but for all the great service they perform to ‘give back’ to the communities we live in. I am very grateful to be part of such a team.

Yet, I would think most of us, even in our hardest moments, would be able to find some other things, perhaps very simple things, to be grateful for.

A while back someone I respect very much said that they made it a daily discipline to write down (not just think about, but write down), each day at least one thing they were grateful for. So I decided to try that. After more than a year now, I have a list of well in excess of 365 things that I have made myself consciously aware of being grateful for. That sort of knocked me out for a minute, because if I had not put them down in writing in front of me I would never have really fully acknowledged how many things there are each day to be grateful for. Some days there are three or four, some days many more so the actual number is pretty amazing. They range from the seemingly silly, like ice cream (which I am mightily grateful for), to the highly important like health, shelter, food, clothing clean water and clean air. This has also taught me to be grateful for one thing in particular—this day. It is too precious to waste and, really, it is all we are promised.

So, to close let me offer you a little gift of thanks for reading this blog. It is a short Sanskrit proverb attributed to the Indian poet and playwright K?lid?sa writing in the fifth century A.D. It goes like this:

Look to this day,

For it is life,

The very life of life.

In its brief course lie all

The realities and verities of existence,

The Bliss of growth,

The splendor of action

The glory of power—

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow is only a vision,

But today, well lived,

Makes every yesterday a dream of happiness

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

No matter how good your customer service skills, you will eventually have to deal with an unhappy client. Sometimes, you make a mistake, an error, or maybe your customer is just having a lousy day, these tactics may help you salvage your good reputation while keeping your customer in the fold.

The first step in handling the unhappy patron is the most obvious: Listen! If your client is dissatisfied, listen to their concerns without interruption. Sometimes seemingly difficult customers just want someone to listen to them and understand their issues. When customers believe you are hearing their problems and concerns, they typically will give you the time to find a solution to their dilemma. After listening, repeat back to the customer the problem they’ve expressed. This will let them know you’ve heard and understood their issue. By listening without interruption, you will likely hear important information that will help you find a satisfactory solution.

An unhappy patron will often know what they want or need to remedy a problem. Allow the customer to tell you what will satisfy them and how you can solve their problems. Ask questions like, “What would you like me to do?”, or “How should we fix this for you?” may calm customers down some and lead them toward more effective, open communication lines. Remember to thank them for their feedback, and ask for specific contact information so you can get back to them with the proper solution.

Once you empathized with the unhappy customer’s frustration, and you’ve thanked them for bringing their concerns to your attention, you need to present solutions. A problem may be forgiven easily by offering a small discount, or a coupon for a future service. Provide the unhappy patron with two or more options as a solution to their problem so they feel empowered over the situation. If customers are unreasonable in their demands, continue to look for a compromise and remain solution-oriented.

After the unhappy patron has agreed to a satisfactory compromise to solve his issue, you should take the extra time to follow up and make sure the customer was pleased with the effort and the solution you provided. Leave your name and contact information to give the unhappy client a sense of control should they encounter more troubles in the future. They may be more willing to voice their future concerns without becoming belligerent once they know you are there for them. To make a lasting impression, do a little something extra beyond the agreed-upon solution such as sending the unhappy client a thank you note, or letter with an extra coupon inside.

In each case of an unhappy patron, try to see things from their perspective, and meet your patron’s needs as best you can while looking out for your business, too. Be as honest as you can without getting too personal. Make sure your clients know that you value their business even if you cannot fully meet their needs at this time. Keep all your interactions professional and polite, and most patrons will understand.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners. Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.